van ghoate



(No Model.)

S. P. VAN GHOATE.

RAIL FOR ELECTRICAL RAILWAYS.

N0. 319,041. Patented June 2, 1885.

v INVENTORI am WITNESSES: 3%

ZWWM$ W UNtTsn STATES PATENT @FSFECE SILVANUS F. VAN OHOATE, OF NEW Y 01K, N. Y.

RAIL FOR ELECTRICAL RAILWAYS.

SPEUTPECATIGN forniiii part of Letters Patent 3T0. 819,021, dated June 2, 1885.

Application filed April [8, 1981. Renewed November 6, 1889. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, SILVANUS F. VAN GHOATE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rails for Electrical and other Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the construction of rails for use on either elevated or surface roads, but more especially to the construction of a rail suitable for use in those systems of electrical railways in which the electro-magnetic motor used for propelling the moving car is supplied with electricity from a stationary source, the current being conveyed to the motor by the rails upon which the car runs, and taken up either by the wheels of the car, which for this purpose are suitably insulated from one another on opposite sides of the ear, or by means of a supplemental wheel contact or brush constantly bearing upon the rail The object of my invention is especially to provide for this purpose a rail which shall serve as the insulated conductor for the electric current, the return-conductor consisting, if desirable, of the non-insulated rail, which is of ordinary construction, and need not be insulated from the earth. The form of rail herein described also possesses advantages when used upon ordinary railroads, as it is less rigid and unyielding than rails of solid iron, and upon elevated roads it decreases to a considerable extent the noise.

My invention consists in a compound rail constructed by applying to a main or support ing rail formed with an enlarged head a covering of insulating or elastic materialv and an exterior cap of metal, both the latter conformed to the shape of the main or supporting rail, so as to be held firmly in place therein without the use of screws or bolts.

In the drawing, the figure is a cross-section of a rail constructed according to my invention.

The main or supporting rail Bis of iron, and resembles in shape the T-rail now in use, excepting that its head is somewhat smaller, the web 2 being only slightly enlarged at its top, but su'fliciently to retain the insulation j and cap-piece K when compressed about it and made to conform to its shape, The insulation [j is of papier-mach or other suitable insulating material, which is formed over the head of the rail in any suitable manner-as, for in stance, by compressing it when in a plastic state upon the head by passing the two together through rolls shaped to the form of the railhead and the upper part of the web t'. After the insulation has become sufliciently hardened, the eapplate K, which is made of iron or other metal of suitable thickness and in the form of an inverted U, is applied to the top of the rail and fitted and secured by bending and compressing to the shapeof the head, as shown in the drawing. This may be done by passing the top of the rail and the cap together through rolls conforming to the shape of the insulated head. The cap K is of suflicient width to project or extend down below the insulation j, as shown at Z, so as to form a drip or watershed, in order to maintain the insulation in wet or rainy weather. The cappiece K, as well as the insulation, is by the above means securely held on the main rail without the use of screws or bolts,which could not be used without some special provision to prevent electrical connection between the cappiece and the main or supporting rail. The insulation also prevents concussion and wear of the rail (as also to some extent the noise caused by the passage of a train) by turnishing an elastic cushion between the wheels of the cars and the main rail.

For the purpose of making electrical connection from the end of one rail to the next, I employ strips of copper or other good 0on ducting material secured to the cap-pieces at the joints, so as to allow perfect conductivity and an uninterrupted flow of the electri current.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A railway-rail consisting of a main or supporting rail irregular in crosssection, a cap-piece conforming to the irregularities of the main rail, so as to thereby be held in place, and interposed insulating material, substantially as and for the purpose described.

A railway-rail consisting of a main supporting-rail with an enlarged head, a cap of elastic material conforming to said rail and head, and an exterior cap of metal compressed upon and conforming to the shape of its support, substantially as described.

3. A railway-rail consisting of a main or supporting rail and a metallic cap insulated from the main rail and provided with a drip or water-shed extending below the insulation,

ward toward the web of the rail and an ins fii r 5 substantially as shown and described. I UILVAUC3 F AD U IOJLE terposed layer of cushioning material, as and 1 v for the purpose described.

4-. A railway-rail consisting of a main or Witnesses: supporting rail provided with an enlarged THOMAS W. PEYTON, head, an exterior cap-piece of metal bent in JNo. J. DIFFLEY. 

